Party Nibbles- Glamorgan Bites, Mediterranean Veggie Wellington and Sausage Rolls

Over Christmas my husband and I hosted a party for our family and friends. Most didn't realise that everything they were eating, except the ham, was vegetarian. As I was doing a 4 course buffet style meal at this day long event I needed snacks I could pre-make, freeze, then heat up as I needed them. These three nibbles went down a treat!
Do excuse the mess in this photo, it was taken in the midst of the party!

Glamorgan Bites
This recipe is derived from the Welsh recipe for Glamorgan Sausages. During the Second World War, there was a shortage of meat in the British Isles, so the Welsh  village of Glamorgan invented a meat free sausage recipe using cheddar cheese and leeks.

Recipe
2-3 medium to large leeks
1 shallot or small onion
2 oz butter
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste- I prefer McCormick Black Garlic salt

Method
In a frying pan with high sides add the butter and gently melt on a medium heat, wash and slice the leeks- I find it best to quarter them lengthways then slice finely widthways from bottom to top, finely chop the shallot and add both to the saucepan. Stir occasionally, these should melt down and begin to brown.
Once cooked, remove the saucepan from the heat, season, and allow to cool. Add the leek mixture, the cheese, and breadcrumbs to a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg and add it to the mixture.
The next part is messy, so make sure you have greaseproof/ parchment paper cut and ready to use. Mix the breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, and leek mixture and divide into small balls around 3/4 inch in size. Once the balls are formed, flatten slightly and place on the parchment/ greeseproof paper. This mixture should yield around 30 balls. If you are cooking these straight away you can either fry them for 5 minutes on each side on a medium heat, or place in the oven at 350F / 180C for 15 minutes until brown and serve. If placing in the freezer, keep on the parchment / greaseproof paper and place inside a large (gallon size) freezer bag. I keep them on double layers- placing one sheet of parchment over the other. They will keep in the freezer for 7 to 8 months. If cooking from frozen these will take around 20-25 minutes to cook through.
This recipe can be made gluten free by using gluten free breaddrumbs.

Mediterannean Vegetable Wellingtons
This recipe is derived from the vegetarian option at our wedding- a vegetable wellington. I added tomatoey meditteranean flavours with a sprinkling of paprika to bring a smokey depth to these, then sliced them into bitesize pieces for everyone to enjoy.

Recipe
1 onion
1 bell pepper (I recommend red or orange)
1 small can of tomato paste
1 small courgette / zucchini
1oz olives (optional) I like to use Oloves sachets either the black chilli garlic or green basil and garlic flavours
3 cloves garlic
1tbp olive oil for frying
1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
2oz melted butter or oil to grease the pastry
fresh or dried oregano to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 pack puff pastry (in the US I recommend Pepperidge Farm, in the UK I'd use Jusrol- making my own is too time consuming normally)
Grated cheese and dried herbs to decorate (optional)

Method
First, ensure your pastry is thawed as you will need to roll this out.
Thinly slice the onion, pepper, garlic and courgette (zucchini) and place in a hot frying pan with tall sides with the olive oil. Note- the courgette I would slice widthways into disks about .5cm thick (1/8 inch) then I would chop the slices into little 'fingers' of the vegetable to ensure they cook quickly and evenly and have a good distribution throughout the bake. The pepper slices should be around the same size as the courgette/ zucchini. Once softened, add the tomato paste, paprika, sliced olives, salt, pepper, and oregano and stir until cooked through.
Roll out the puff pastry, I find it easiest to roll this out on parchment paper/ baking paper with a dusting of flour to prevent the pastry sticking to the paper and the rolling pin. this should be rolled to around .3cm (1/10inch), mentally divide the sheet into thirds, keeping the middle complete, slice the two edges into attached strips about 1.5cm (1/2 inch) thick. These will be used to plait over the mixture.
Using a pastry brush, cover the pastry with melted butter or oil. Add the mixture to the middle of the pastry, leaving about the wifth of 2 fingers ad the top and bottom of the pastry for folding over. Fold the top of the pastry to cover then proceed to plait the strips of pastry one over the other, ensuring no gaps.  Once the plaits are completed, brush with the remainder of the butter/ oil and add a sprinkle of grated cheddar and / or dried herbs to garnish as desired.
This recipe will fill one or two pasty sheets. If cooking immediately, place in the oven at 350F / 180C for 15 minutes until brown and serve. If placing in the freezer, keep on the parchment / greaseproof paper and place inside a large (gallon size) freezer bag. I keep them on double layers- placing one sheet of parchment over the other. They will keep in the freezer for 7 to 8 months. If cooking from frozen these will take around 20-25 minutes to cook through.
If serving as nibbles at a party, slice and serve. If serving as dinner, halve and serve (or keep a whole one to yourself if you're really hungry!)

Sausage Rolls
A true British party stable, these are hard to find in the US in general, and impossible to find in a vegetarian form, so I invented my own recipe to make these from scratch. You can, of course make these with ground meat rather than the vegetarian alternative from Quorn, the rest of the recipe would remain the same.

Ingredients
1 pack Quorn grounds (mince) (12oz), remove from freezer before using in order to separate the grounds
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 small sprig fresh sage
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 sprig thyme
1 tblsp oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste
2oz melted butter/ oil to grease the pastry
1 pack puff pastry (in the US I recommend Pepperidge Farm, in the UK I'd use Jusrol- making my own is too time consuming normally)

Method
Very finely chop the garlic and onion and add to a frying pan on medium heat. Once this begins to brown, add the Quorn grounds and a little water if neccessary. Add the fresh sage and thyme, finely chopped, along with the paprika and garlic powder, continue to stir the mixture until cooked through. This should take around 15 minutes.
Roll out the puff pastry, I find it easiest to roll this out on parchment paper/ baking paper with a dusting of flour to prevent the pastry sticking to the paper and the rolling pin. this should be rolled to around .3cm (1/10inch). Slice the pastry into strips around 3 inches in width and 1.5 in length- these will be made into little parcles for the sausage rolls.
Once the pastry is divided, spoon a little mixture into each small rectangle of pastry, add the butter or oil around the edge and gently press to ensure the edges are sealed. Score the top of each sausage roll 2-3 times with a knife to allow steam to escape to ensure the rolls do not burst in the oven.
If placing in the freezer, keep on the parchment / greaseproof paper and place inside a large (gallon size) freezer bag. I keep them on double layers- placing one sheet of parchment over the other. They will keep in the freezer for 7 to 8 months. If cooking from frozen these will take around 20-25 minutes to cook through.